CCI to examine online, offline aspects of Reliance-Future deal separately

India’s antitrust body CCI will examine the online and offline aspects of the Reliance-Future Group deal – separately and together – to ascertain their effect on competition, according to an official.

Reliance Retail Ventures., a unit of Reliance Industries , sought CCI’s approval for its Rs 24,713 crore acquisition of the online and offline businesses of the Future Group, which includes retail, wholesale, logistics and warehousing operations.

The first step for the competition watchdog in assessing the deal would be to define the relevant market. Experts said the CCI may not have a precedent. This is a first-of-its-kind deal where both offline and online businesses are being acquired, said Kanika Chaudhary Nayar, a partner at law firm Luthra & Luthra.

According to Karan Singh Chandhiok, a partner at Chandhiok & Mahajan, the CCI will determine whether the retail supply chain management includes logistics and warehousing.